1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a retainer for securing a desired article to a vehicle body.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to detachably mount a desired article, such as a seat cushion, to a vehicle body without using bolts and nuts, various types of retainers or clips are known. For example, Japanese Utility Model Application No. 72,308/76 which has been laid open for public inspection discloses such a retainer, which consists of a substantially V-shaped metallic strip and is passed through an opening in a body panel such that an engaging portion of the article to be mounted on the body panel is retained by the lower end portion of the retainer while the upper end portion of the retainer is retained by the body panel.
More particularly, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the abovementioned retainer 1 retains a substantially U-shaped lower extension 2 of a seat cushion frame at its lower end 3 which is restricted upwardly to form neck portions 4, 4 thus preventing withdrawal of the extension 2. The lower end 3 is connected, through the neck portions 4, 4, with middle portions 9, 9 which are resiliently urged outward in opposite directions such that the retainer is expanded. The middle portions 9, 9 are passed through openings 7, 8 formed in the floor mat 5 and the body panel 6, respectively, with the middle portions 9, 9 contracted toward each other. The side edges 10, 10 of each middle portion 9 are extended to engage with the lower surface of the body panel 6 when the middle portions 9, 9 are expanded below the body panel 6. The center parts 11, 11 of the middle portions 9, 9 extend through the openings 7, 8 and engage with the upper surface of the floor mat 5 which is pierced by sharp edges 12, 12 at the free ends of the center parts 11, 11.
With the above arrangement, the space between the middle portions 9, 9 is not closed on both sides so that the space below the body panel 6 must be closed by an additional lower panel 6'. Otherwise, foreign material including water and dust is permitted to enter into the cabin through the open sides of the retainer and the openings in the body panel and the floor mat. This is disadvantageous in that the location of the retainers cannot be determined relatively freely as they have to be mounted in a closed space, and that reduction of the vehicle weight is interrupted by the additional lower panel to provide the closed space.